KARACHI: Former senator Jawaid Jabbar said on Thursday that the current turmoil between the Gulf states would escalate the political crisis in the region. He was speaking to roundtable dialogue on “Dynamics of the Middle East crisis” at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs. Jabbar said that Saudia Arabia has made disproportionate investment in its …

KARACHI: International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Executive Director Annie Game has urged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to respond to UNESCO Director-General’s 2017 request that has sought information on the status of judicial inquiries into the killings of 55 journalists in Pakistan from 2006 to 2016. In a letter, Game also asked the Prime …

By Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD: The Censorship Committee on Defence Planning (CCDP) has been revived by the government after 18 years to protect the “national interest” being threatened, particularly by the unregulated and unchecked electronic media of the country. Sources said that the CCDP, which met on Dec 16, 2015, after a long gap of 18 …

Karachi: “Considered one of the frontline defenders of human rights, protection of media personnel’s rights was, however, still a distant dream in Pakistan,” observed Solidarity Centre country programme manager Immad Ashraf on Wednesday. He was speaking at a day-long paralegal workshop titled ‘Communicating rights at work’, organised by IRADA – a not for profit organisation …

By Qamar Zaman ISLAMABAD: The radio frequency authorities have admitted not developing any mechanism to block illegal use of airwaves despite a large number of violations over the years. The unauthorised use of the radio spectrum, according to the Telecommunication (Reorganisation) Act of 1996, is an offence that may be punishable with imprisonment up to …

Pakistan continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, an uncomfortable truth highlighted by yet another murder of a mediaperson on November 22. Television journalist Hafeezur Rehman was shot dead by unidentified people in Kohat, only weeks after a fellow professional, Zaman Mehsud, was ambushed in a similarly ghastly …